It’s childish, pathetic and personal, and is doing huge harm to Welsh rugby on the global stage, as Lions and Wales wing great Gerald Davies pointed out at last month’s extraordinary general meeting of the WRU, which was called over a new league structure for the community game.

Davies has since announced he’s standing down from his position as a national representative on the WRU with sources suggesting he might be hankering to represent the sport on the International Olympic Committee with a sevens tournament taking place at the Rio Olympics in two years’ time.

Gerald Davies arriving for last month's EGM

But his unease and frustration with what has been going on behind the scenes for about 18 months over a new Participation Agreement became public knowledge when he addressed club delegates and the board of the WRU in Port Talbot.

Peace has supposedly been close on a number of occasions but the union and Regional Rugby Wales, the umbrella organisation which represents the interests of the Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets, can’t seem to go the final inch and sign an agreement.

Why?

Because there appears to be mistrust on both sides.

Yet the regions, almost unbelievably, failed to back a vote of no confidence in the governing body at last month's EGM.

Perhaps it being a show of hands and only four going up against the union persuaded them not to join the rebellion.

There was also another factor in that the regions aren’t exactly seen as friends of the clubs.

In fact, you could argue their failure to truly embrace the club game and have proper regional boards has and continues to alienate people.

'Staring into the abyss'

So much for all being in it together. There’s the clubs, the regions and the union.

The EGM, the brainchild of former WRU boss and ex-RRW chief executive David Moffett, also back-fired on the regions because the clubs gave the union a massive mandate of support.

It means Welsh rugby, as it has since union went open in August 1995 allowing the payment of players and the advent of professionalism, is once again staring into the abyss.

The new season is less than two months away and nobody knows what’s going to happen.

Will all or some of the regions even be in existence come September if the extra funding – a combined £6.7m last season – they would get from the WRU if they signed a new Participation Agreement, which has been dressed up by the union as a Rugby Services Agreement, doesn’t come?

“We would sit down as four businesses and make decisions on what that means for us,” said Blues chairman Peter Thomas.

Dragons’ chief executive Gareth Davies said: “Each region is looking at its own business plan, I suppose what you could call a ‘survival plan’ now.”

That could mean a fire-sale of players if the regions were to become unable to pay wages.

Clubs outside Wales might offer a transfer fee for some but, more likely, they would want them for nothing.

So there would be a very real prospect of more stars leaving and the fed-up public feeling more alienated and losing more interest.

The regions have urged the WRU to mount a takeover of them but that’s not going to happen because the union would be unwilling to take on the significant debts of organisations which lack assets apart from players.

The only way you suspect the union would start its own enterprise is if some of the current franchises called it a day.

It’s an unholy mess and while it continues the regions are trying to sell season tickets.

Ticket sales

Who in their right mind would buy them at this moment in time?

No wonder the Ospreys and Dragons have been offering special deals on discount websites.

Surely, there has to be some middle ground and a peace deal?

The benefactors, the likes of Thomas, Huw Evans, Nigel Short, Roger Blyth, Robert Davies, Mike James, Martyn Hazell, Tony Brown and Mike Cuddy, have pumped millions into the game over the years and will never get most of it back.

But they do need to understand the WRU doesn’t have a limitless pot of money to distribute and realise the Welsh game simply cannot compete with the big moneymen in France and England.

The regions could also help themselves by doing more to attract support from the public.

Welsh rugby should be a partnership between the union, the regions and the clubs.

With four Six Nations titles – three with Grand Slams – a World Cup semi-final and runner-up spot at under-20 level at the Junior World Championship, plus a record four league titles for the Ospreys, there’s a lot going right for Welsh rugby.

But it could be so much better.

There has to be a peace deal. It’s as simple as that and the quicker it’s done the better.

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